Digesting the astronomical figures at the supersonic speed with which Robert Vadra’s business empire catapulted from being a modest brass handicrafts outfit to a neat little real estate and hospitality empire, valued at a few hundred crore rupees, is a tough exercise for millions of Indians. And, that too, in an era when one thought the image of politics and politicians could not sink lower and we had seen the worst of corruption sagas and scandals.
But apparently not. With Arvind Kejriwal & Co bringing to public glare, the fortune allegedly amassed by the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, and both Vadra and DLF’s shoddy attempt to justify the huge “advances” made to the former by the latter as “normal business deals”, mega corruption in politics is back to the fore again.
Desi and chatpata
Just back from a visit to some Rajasthan villages around Bharatpur, my mind replays the
I quizzed the farmers in village after village on FDI in retail and their responses were heavily one-sided; they had no faith in the Government. No Government in India had ever worked for the poor, or the farmer. And bringing foreign companies into India would only enrich the pockets of the politicians.
As we drove across 50-60 km, some of them terrible roads, Bhim Singh, a PhD in Horticulture from the Pantnagar University, and hailing from a farmer’s family himself, gave me lots of gyan about the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. “ Do tarah ki Lakshmi hoti hei, shaant Lakshmi or ashaant Lakshmi .” To my puzzled expression, he explains what constitutes peaceful wealth and its exact opposite.
Shaant vs ashaant Lakshmi
“ Shaant Lakshmi mei do paise aaram se khaney ko milte hei aur ashaant Lakshmi mei (Suresh) Kalmadi jaise log aa jatey hei (Wealth acquired through honest means allows you to enjoy little in peace; the opposite attracts people like Kalmadi) and the corruption increases several-fold.”
He next gives the example of Gopal Kanda, the Haryana Minister allegedly involved in the suicide of an air hostess. “ Woh Hawai chappal bechta tha, hawai jahaj se neechey aa gira . (He used to sell Hawai chappals, but then tried to fly an airline and crashed!” The reference is to the stormy fortunes of the MDLR Airlines.
Bhim Singh, who is the principal project coordinator of the Lupin Human Welfare and Research Foundation, then launches into a detailed explanation of how an IAS officer asked him: “How long will you sell chappals like this, come and join me.” Many IAS officers are looking for dalals (brokers) and this chap reportedly got Kanda into real estate, made him a property dealer and then his empire expanded through wrong and fraudulent means. And all such roads lead to politics. But what happened? Image bananey mei 60 saal lagtey hei, lekin gawane me sirf chhey seconds lagte hei. (A reputation is built over 60 years, but can be lost in just six seconds.) He finally ended up in jail!”
Inflated cost of agri land
We then talk about FDI in retail and why Bhim Singh is so bitterly opposed to it. To my argument on middlemen being eliminated and the farmer getting more for his produce if foreign giants procure it directly, Bhim Singh says, “ Dekhiye Madam, it is not always about money... getting more or getting less. FDI will corrupt our culture.”
He gives the example of his family land, about 15 hectares in Aligarh. The land belongs to his mother and the family grows basmati rice and wheat on it. “In that area, one hectare sells for Rs 10 crore. Now can I ever dream of making so much money though farming? I’ll get much more by selling the property and I can live on the interest. But I will never sell it because we have inherited it.”
He says with so much corrupt money coming through the political system, land prices are highly inflated. Farmers are induced to sell their small landholdings; never having seen so much money at one time, they invariably splurge, the entire family lands up in their homes and the money is gone in no time. “If this continues, all agricultural land will disappear slowly and, then, we will be dependent on the foreigners to sell us their produce at hefty prices,” he argues.
Even education will not solve the problem of the rural people, Bhim Singh says. He argues that even today “they recruit our MBA boys or BBA girls, make them wear ties and put them in malls, paying them barely Rs 2,500 a month. They will buy my water, put it in a bottle and sell it back to me for Rs 15. This is your FDI; it will benefit only the rich and emaciate the poor. I have my roots in the village and have served the B. K. Birla group. There, the malik himself has served me kheer with his hands, in silver vessels. That was the culture of Indian companies.”
Tweets on Vadra
Returning to Vadra and his fairytale rise to the big league through questionable means, Twitterdom was abuzz with fun tweets. While one said, “Sonia Gandhi was very embarrassed on hearing Robert Vadra is worth Rs 300 crore. In political terms, that is below the poverty line”, another from Faking News said, “Breaking news: Vijay Mallya to sell Kingfisher Airlines to Robert Vadra.” Another sober one talked about how “it took the Tatas 100 years” to become billionaires.
Then, there was the furore over Vadra’s supposed Facebook update: “Mango people in banana republic”. An angry Kejriwal demanded an apology from him for calling India a “banana republic”, while somebody tweeted, “Robert Vadra has deleted his Facebook account. Kapil Sibal has said the Government will help other Indians do the same.”
But what is no laughing matter is the seriousness of this latest scandal and the shameful manner in which Congress ministers and spokespersons descended on TV channels right from Friday to defend Vadra, who is not a legislator, politician or public servant.
Did I hear someone say, “Oh sure, he is above all the three put together”?
rasheeda.bhagat@thehindu.co.in and blfeedback@thehindu.co.in